


Man to Man

by ThePrettyTomboy



Category: Homestuck, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, M/M, it was fun though, what even is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-05-02
Packaged: 2018-01-21 16:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1556210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrettyTomboy/pseuds/ThePrettyTomboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Alit, and you think you've just found out what it's like to fall in love at first sight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man to Man

**Author's Note:**

> Alit and Jake Prompt: Charisma (see Powers of attraction)
> 
> Homestuck/ZeXal crossovers are my new favorite thing.

Your name is Alit, and you think you've just found out what it's like to fall in love at first sight. The moment this green-eyed Adonis entered your field of vision, flights of angels had sounded their trumpets while wings sprouted from the dark-haired boy's back and he'd lifted you up into the depths of space, becoming your world in an instant. Your knees go weak and you can feel heat flare in your cheeks and ears. You wonder if he notices you.

He's sitting on the edge of the park's fountain, chatting with three other people, two girls and one guy. He guffaws, the sound crystal clear and floating into your ears on a gentle breeze. The boy talks with his hands, flailing for emphasis. He leans back so far he nearly falls into the fountain, only to be saved by the pale blond guy sitting beside him.

You bristle with jealousy at the way the blond's hand lingers. You're in love here! What sort of mortal is he to be touching the god at his side? Competitive rage flares inside your chest, spreading until it has spurred you into motion, stalking toward the group. You come to a stop directly in front of them, your finger outstretched toward the blond.

It's hard to tell from his shades--you hate those especially, you decide--but you think he's giving you a quizzical look. "Did you need something?"

"I challenge you to a duel!" you declare, drawing yourself up to your full height and looking down with the most menacing expression you can muster.

The blond crosses his arms in front of himself, the corners of his lips turning down. "Is there something I'm missing here?"

"Fight me for the hand of your angelic companion!"

Making a show of turning his head back and forth as if looking over his three friends, he asks, "Which...one?"

The girl beside him, who looks almost as though she could be his sister, erupts into a fit of giggles. "Oh em  _gee_ , Dirk, you're so smooth, I'm  _spooning_  over here!" She cracks up again. "Pffft,  _swooping_ , no no,  _swooning_!" You think she might be drunk.

"Yeah, I'm a real ladies' man," he responds, deadpan. He hasn't exhibited the smallest hint of emotion since you arrived.

The drunk one buries her face in the shoulder of the dark-haired girl beside her, body shaking with unrestrained cackles.

This is not how you planned for your challenge to go. You lock eyes with your angel, finding him staring at you with unfettered curiosity. Throwing the force of your will behind your gaze, you attempt to communicate everything you feel for him in this very moment with nothing but your eyes. You open your mouth to speak, but are cut off by the blond--Dirk, the drunk one had called him.

"Look," he says, his face once again directed in your general direction, "while I'm sure all three of my uh... _angelic companions_ , you said? While I'm sure they're all hells of flattered, I don't take verbal requests. If you really want to fight me I'm gonna need that shit in writing, notarized and everything." Dirk stands, his wiry form towering a full head above your own.

You have to tilt your head back in order to maintain eye contact. "If those are your terms," you say.

Dirk half-turns to the girls, asking them where they want to go for lunch, ignoring you.

Fine then. If he wants a formal challenge, then he'll  _get_  a formal challenge. You toss a final glance at the green-eyed boy, who is once again speaking animatedly to his friends, before leaving them. You'll do whatever you have to do to win him over.

:::

Perhaps you hadn't thought this through as thoroughly as you should have. You spent the better part of the afternoon choosing the stationary on which to handwrite your challenge in ink, returning to the fountain only when you felt it was satisfactory enough for your opponent.

By then both he and your angel were long gone.

You drop onto the edge of the fountain, your body heavy in the deepening twilight, clenching your fist. Dirk is a coward, running away from you like this, taking the prize along with him. You punch the stone beneath you, succeeding only in bruising your knuckles. Will they return, or have you been made a fool of? You turn your brain inside out, trying to recall anything that would lead you to your newfound rival in love. The drunk one had mentioned pizza, you believe, but there are hundreds of pizza places in the city and you have lost the energy to search them all.

Instead, you head over to your favorite hole in the wall, passing under the flickering neon sign reading "BARian" with a sigh. You slide into the bar and mutter, "Milkshake," to the bartender, too wearied by your loss to enunciate. Will you ever find him again, your angel? Where in this wide world could he have gone? Your eyes settle on the invitation you had written to Dirk, darkening. If you never see your angel again,  _he_  will be the one to blame. You take a swig of the milkshake that is placed before you, slamming it onto the counter with a smack of your lips. There is nothing that can't be accomplished through the power of divine love! You  _will_  defeat Dirk, and you  _will_  be reunited with your angel! No matter how long it takes, you  _will_  find them!

:::

It takes a long time. You spend weeks searching, eventually resigning yourself to wait at the fountain every day from sunrise to sunset, hoping that they will turn up once more. On a pleasant afternoon a month and a half after your initial encounter, you spot your angel once more, again accompanied by his three friends. You jump up from your place on the edge of the fountain, the invitation in your outstretched hand. They are all staring at you in wonder as you wait for Dirk to respond.

He finally does. "Holy _shit_  I was not serious." Dirk runs a hand through his spiked blond hair, whistling. "Okay, look, I don't even know who you're all worked up over here, but you're free to romance them or whatever I don't care. I'm not going to fight you, that's some straight up medieval bullshit right there." He gestures toward each of the girls at his sides. "So who do you want to woo? Roxy? Jane? They're their own free people, dude, go right the fuck ahead."

The drunk one, the one he'd indicated as Roxy, giggles. "You won't fight him to the death for me, Dirk? I'm _shirt_. Fuck, I mean, hurt."

"Sorry, Rox, you're on your own."

You frown, irritated that the green-eyed god standing to Dirk's left has yet to be introduced.

You think the girl called Jane has noticed, because she lightly elbows Dirk and puts a hand to her mouth to whisper in his ear.

Even behind his shades you can see his face contorting into the faintest hint of a scowl. His hand curls into a fist at his side and he turns away from you, attracting confused looks from Roxy and the angel. "We should go."

"Oh come  _on_  Dirk," says your angel, his lips pulling against his two front teeth, which look just too large for his mouth. "This fellow just wants to engage in some fisticuffs with you!"

"Dude no," says Dirk, taking the green-eyed boy by the shoulder and spinning him around. "We're going." He places a hand firmly in the center of his friend's back and pushes him along.

As they turn to follow, Roxy leans down to Jane and whispers--although in a voice so loud that it's rendered pointless--a question. "So, what's going on? I feel like I'm missing something impotent here. Important," she corrects.

Jane is more successful at keeping their conversation a secret from you, but you gather from the way she jerks a thumb at your angel that she is explaining what she did to Dirk.

" _Ohhhh_ ," Roxy giggles. " _Ohhhhhhhh_." She shoots you a none-too-subtle glance. "I bet you could take them both, Janey!"

Jane hunches her shoulders and elbows Roxy in the ribs.

No. This is going even worse than the first time; you  _refuse_  to fail. You stomp toward Dirk, struggling to outpace the length of his strides, but able to overcome him and plant yourself in his path. Once more you thrust the letter at him, pressing it to his chest, silently begging him not to refuse.

He tilts his head down, looking at you over the tops of his shades, and with a glare accepts the invitation, stuffing it into a pocket before dragging your angel away with him.

All that's left for you to do now is wait.

:::

He's there when you return at dusk, shifting from foot to foot in front of the fountain. When you are within arm's reach, he throws a punch, lightning fast.

You retaliate with a cross-counter, and you end up socking each other square in the jaw.

Dirk sighs heavily and sits down on the fountain, rubbing his chin. "I don't really want to fight you, bro," he says. You detect a hint of sadness to his voice. "Take it from me, you should move on while you have the chance." He holds out a hand. "Name's Dirk Strider."

Confused, you accept his handshake. "Alit Cestus. What do you mean, 'move on while I have the chance'?" you ask as you take a seat beside him.

"He's straight as a fuckin' board, dude. There is not a millimeter of give there." Dirk scratches at a spot just under the bridge of his shades, which he hasn't taken off despite the growing darkness. "You and I both have fallen to his ungodly pretty face. I think pretty much everyone does." He pushes himself up from the edge of the fountain, offering you a hand. He pulls you to your feet, and you're falling all over again.


End file.
